


Old Frames

by infizero



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Ballonlea (Pokemon), Fae & Fairies, Fae Opal, Found Family, Gen, Photographs, Secrets, not really the focus but like. opal is bede's grandma. thank you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:34:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22512580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infizero/pseuds/infizero
Summary: Bede finds some old photographs of Opal. Too old.
Relationships: Beet | Bede & Poplar | Opal
Comments: 2
Kudos: 83
Collections: BeadsAndOpals





	Old Frames

Bede tugged on the bottom drawer of the old chest of drawers that Opal had provided him with, but it was no use. It seemed it was truly stuck. 

The drawer had been stuck ever since he had moved to Ballonlea, but he knew that it could be opened. He had once caught the retired gym leader in his room, looking through the drawer. At first he had thought she was going through his stuff, which he objected to but was in character for the old woman, but he had soon realized it was the seemingly-stuck one.

But once she had left and he went back in, it was stuck again. Completely, utterly stuck. No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't get it open. He had even gotten his Pokemon to try, but not even they had been able to get it.

He knew it was probably stupid to try again after so much failure, but he knew it was possible. He had to find out what was in there. What Opal was hiding. If anything.

Speak of Giratina, the woman herself called from the main room that she was heading out. Bede yelled back an "okay" and continued to fiddle with the drawer once he heard the door shut. 

"What in the world could be in here?" he muttered to himself.

He tried a few more times, to no avail, but suddenly he pulled and it came out as easily as all the others. Bede startled, staring at the drawer like it was possessed. Which, who knew, maybe it was.

"How…?" Bede started, but he didn't bother to finish the sentence, instead quickly scrambling to sit back up and peer inside.

Inside the drawer was a pile of papers and photographs, scattered amongst the area in a messy clump. Bede picked one up and examined it. It was of a young woman with dark hair who looked somewhat familiar, standing in what looked to be the Glimwood Tangle, a Rapidash standing next to her, its pink and blue mane cascading down its body.

He furrowed his brow and stared at the woman. He could've sworn she reminded him of someone, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He flipped to the back of the photograph, where in lacy cursive "New Fairy Gym Leader Opal" was written.

Bede gasped, flipping back to the photo. Now that he knew, there was no mistaking it - the woman was Opal, although much, much younger of course. There was no date on the photo, but it looked fairly old, with faded colors and a yellowish tint covering everything.

Now even more interested, Bede picked up another photograph. It seemed to be even older than the first one, in black-and-white with a few tears and smears on it. It was labelled "Opal, 1905" and showed the same young Opal sitting in a house in Ballonlea. Bede frowned. Something was off.

The young Opal didn't seem to be a day younger than she had been in the first picture, and if the writing on the back was to be believed, this photograph was over 110 years old. Which… shouldn't even be possible. Opal couldn't be that old… could she?

Slightly… concerned?, Bede grabbed another photo. It was Opal, looking the same as she did today, wrinkles and all, but it looked even older than the first two. He stared in disbelief at the date on the back: 1872. That… had to be a mistake. Maybe it meant to say 1972. That would make… slightly more sense, although it still wouldn't explain the fact that Opal was as old as she was now in the photo.

Bede snatched up another photo, but he quickly realized that it wasn't a photo at all - it was a small painting of Opal, once again appearing very old. It was incredibly detailed, so much so that he felt a bit uncomfortable. There was no way it could be anyone but Opal and yet the date scribbling in tiny print on the back read… 1563.

Bede felt his chest constrict. He rummaged through the rest of photos and paintings and sketches and other likenesses, but it was all the same. The dates varied from a few years ago to the 1300s, with Opal either appearing as a beautiful dark-haired young woman or as her elderly present self. 

What did this mean? This had to be some sort of joke, or trick. Maybe a pesky Fairy-type was messing with him. Maybe Opal herself was messing with him - she wasn't above doing something of the sort. But this didn't seem anything like that. The one explanation his brain came up with that he ignored was the (im)possibility that it was real and that Opal had somehow been alive since the 1300s. Which was silly, obviously. Because that simply wasn't possible. It couldn't be… could it?

The familiar sound of the doorknob turning startled him, alerting him to the fact that Opal herself had returned home. He hadn't realized how long he had been looking through the pictures - he couldn't let her know he had seen them!

Bede scrambled to shove them back in the drawer but it had somehow closed by itself. He pulled on it, but it was stuck. Just how it had been before Opal had left. He desperately tried to get it open as Opal announced her return, but it was no use. He attempted to stuff the photos in one of his own drawers, but before he could, Opal walked in. He froze, caught red-handed. The old woman merely raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, so you've found out my little secret." she mused, picking up the photos and paintings. Bede stuttered, trying to think of an excuse, but none came to mind.

He kept his mouth shut as she pointed a finger at the drawer, which sprang open seemingly by itself. Bede gasped. What just-!?

Opal placed the pictures back in the drawer and closed it with a good shove. Then she turned to him, a neutral, unreadable expression on her face. "It's not nice to snoop around, child." she chided, although she didn't look angry. In fact she looked almost… pleased?

"I don't… I don't understand. What are those pictures…?" Bede couldn't even manage to finish the question. His head was still spinning from the shock of the photos and the sight of the drawer opening itself.

"The Tangle is home to all sorts of creatures. Not just Pokemon." Opal hummed, her eyes glancing over to the window. "Remind me child, what did I tell you the first day you came here?"

Bede recalled the day. It had been very emotionally draining, what with him being disqualified, heading back to Hammerlocke in shame, and being practically abducted by an old woman. He remembered though; they had been walking through the Glimwood Tangle, when Opal had stopped him and become very serious.

"You said to never step into a faerie ring." he repeated.

"And you haven't, have you?"

"...No? Miss Opal, I fail to see how this has anything to do with-"

"Mm, good." Opal answered, ignoring him. "My kind can be very mischievous. I would hate for you to get caught in one of their tricks."

"What do you- wait, your kind?" Bede echoed in disbelief.

A smile spread onto Opal's face and suddenly he was face-to-face with a young, dark-haired woman dressed in a flowy white blouse and long black skirt. The same one in many of the pictures in the drawer - the younger version of Opal.

Bede stared, his mouth agape. How was this possible? Unless… Opal couldn't  _ really _ be a faerie, could she?

At once he was back to looking at old woman Opal, who gave him an amused look. "Really child, you must be more careful. If I wasn't such a human-loving fool you would be trapped here. Don't eat the food of the fae, that's a very simple rule to remember."

"I- I didn't think  _ you _ were a faerie!" Bede exclaimed defensively, feeling like he was going to pass out. This was too much.

"And I suppose I cannot blame you for that. But just to let you know, you are the last Gym Leader to know."

"You mean… everyone else knows!?" Bede stammered.

"Of course! I've been doing this little gig for a long time, but I've grown tired of it. I would rather stay here at home and train you." There was a twinkle of mischief in Opal's eye. "I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out. You'd think having food magically appear on the table would cue you in."

"I just thought I had missed you putting it down! This isn't something people generally expect, you know!"

Opal simply smiled, an air of amusement to her expression, and excused herself from the room. Bede stared as she left, unable to process what had just happened. Although, in all honesty - something this ridiculous was expected of the former Fairy Gym Leader. Almost.

Bede glanced at the drawer, feeling uneasy. He might not have wanted to find its contents after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I really love the idea of Opal being a faerie~
> 
> Kudos and especially comments are greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading!


End file.
